Lone Broad keeping England afloat

Stuart Broad has almost single-handedly kept England alive in this pulsating Test match. It's quite a turnaround for someone who was one tough call away from being sent back to county cricket

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Firstly with the bat, then with the ball Stuart Broad has almost single-handedly kept England alive in this pulsating Test match. It's quite a turnaround for someone who was one tough call away from being sent back to county cricket, but now he has a career-best 6 for 46 and a hat-trick to his name.

In a neat turn of events Broad was the third victim of the last Test hat-trick when Peter Siddle struck at Brisbane in the opening Test last November. On Friday he inflicted India's first three-in-three in Test cricket and the 12th by an England bowler when he had MS Dhoni caught at slip, Harbhajan Singh lbw despite an edge and clean-bowled Praveen Kumar. The sight of a bowler in full, destructive, flow is thrilling viewing and Broad has shown his capability for such bursts before at The Oval and Durban in 2009. This, though, reached a new level.

His spell with the second new-ball was worth 5 for 5 as, for the second time in two days, England claimed the final session of the day to keep themselves in touch in a match that was drifting away while Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh, who was dropped off Broad when he had 4, added 128. As Broad hustled through the lower order the atmosphere became electric; a hat-trick always conjures huge emotion but the intimacy of English grounds - and Trent Bridge especially - made this a compelling moment.

"The crowd were fantastic today and they lifted us with that second new ball, they knew it was going to be a key period as the players did," Broad said. "It was quite a fearsome atmosphere for the Indian batsmen to come into."

Fearsome, maybe, but Broad still had to keep his cool and it was a mark of his soaring confidence that the hat-trick ball was full at the stumps when so many are often off target as the bowler gets carried away. His family, including father Chris Broad, were in the stands watching. It wasn't Broad's first hat-trick, but he had to go back his teenage years at Oakham School to remember his previous ones.

"The atmosphere wasn't quite as good at school with the parents watching," he joked. "In the context of the game it was important to pick those wickets up quickly so to get a hat-trick was special but it won't mean much if we don't go on and win this Test. You always have fond memories when you win so it's important we go on and build a big score which we have done a lot in the past year."

And that win won't be easy; the last England hat-trick was taken by Ryan Sidebottom, at Hamilton, in a Test that was lost. They have already lost Alastair Cook, have Jonathan Trott injured, are still 43 behind and will face a fairly new ball in the morning. "We are still a little bit behind in this Test but hopefully we can have a blazer of a day tomorrow and put us in the ascendancy," Broad said.

It could be suggested that if England want to be the best in the world then they shouldn't put themselves in such difficult positions. However, the character to keep fighting back is not to be sniffed at and something this team has in bucket loads. Remember the World Cup where each calamitous group-stage defeat was followed by an often mind-boggling victory? There is the danger of inconsistency from them, but they have a belief to come back for a difficult session, day or match.

"There's a lot of positive talking in the dressing room," Broad said. "We are very good at reassessing the position we are in and setting new goals. We knew after tea it would be a huge effort to fight through - we probably weren't expecting to bowl India out - but we wanted to go at two-and-a-half an over and really clog them down then pick up a couple of wickets. To bowl them out was pretty special but Saturday will be our biggest test in this match to see if we can get 300 runs."

Yet for all the emotion created by Broad's hat-trick England didn't make the most of the conditions especially in the first two sessions while dropped catches raised their head again. The match could yet come to be decided by Kevin Pietersen's spill at gully when Yuvraj was in single figures. The fifth-wicket stand with Dravid wasn't terminated until they'd put India in the lead.

Andrew Strauss played down the missed chances before this game - he was guilty of two at Lord's - saying the team catch most on offer, but two more here (Alastair Cook shelled one off Ishant Sharma late in the innings) will frustrate Andy Flower and Richard Halsall, the fielding coach, while Strauss told his team at tea to lift their energy levels.

Dropping Yuvraj was a bit of a concern when he and Dravid were going well," Broad admitted. "We knew that new-ball period would be a huge hour for us. Strauss asked as a tea if we could raise our intensity during that hour to put some pressure on the Indian batsmen. Fortunately there was some swing and the edges came our way. We've got ourselves back in this game. Like I said yesterday India probably won three quarters of the day and we've nicked the last session."

Two post-tea surges have kept England within touching distance, but they can't afford to keep leaving their best performances for so late in the day if they want to extend their series lead in Nottingham. And Broad would probably be grateful for some help.

@Shan156: OMG! I should have paid more attention! So who the hell was that guy? He said he'd seen my message to meet anyone at Lords! Anyway - It was one of the best days ever at a Test match that day (even though, evidently, I don't remember too much about it!)

Shan156
on July 31, 2011, 14:51 GMT

5wombats, I didn't meet you at Lord's:-) I don't live in England. In fact, I have never been to England:-)

voma
on July 31, 2011, 13:25 GMT

I thought Stuart Broad played well at Lords , hes been incredble in this match ! . Did anyone notice Botham applauding him , after his batting performance . The hat trick kept Englands chances alive . Were playing against a good team here , allthough personally i cannot see anything between these 2 teams . Indias batting perhaps stronger , Englands bowling far superior . Brilliant cricket

cricfan57779427
on July 31, 2011, 12:33 GMT

This is one of the worst I have ever seen. Former England captain Michael Vaughan, on social networking site Twitter, then asked: "Has Vaseline on the outside edge of the bat saved Laxman's day?". Is this the way an ex-player of ENG should treat a good and humble player like VVS? Did Vaughan lose his mind? This ENG team agreed to use technology and now they are crying in the mid of the series. Previosuly Andy Flower and now Broad, Vauhgan. This ENG is not committed but desperate to win the series and get to #1. So they are ready to do any kind of games. I just hate this kind of Australianish mind games. Even AUS treated India like this back in 2008.

Dravid_Pujara_Gravitas
on July 31, 2011, 12:23 GMT

See, another of my favourite water-tight classic players Bell making it big! I did take his name yesterday. What a batsman Bell is! Great going Bell. Come on India. Get this danger man! I'm loving this series. Why shouldn't I? All my favourite players - Dravid, KP, Bell, VVS are playing so well. Can't help but say a million thanks to Bell for this lovely lovely knock. Hope he gets to 3 digits but my Indian heart says he should be dismissed. But the Bell Fan in me will be heart broken if he doesn't get one here under pressure. What should I do? Whom should I support? Whom should I pray for? What a game! This is Nirvana for me. I hope India wins!

saadfarrukh1
on July 31, 2011, 11:30 GMT

well done broad dhoni has turned out to be the worst player in the world in this series

tjsimonsen
on July 31, 2011, 10:00 GMT

@ironcobra: Until this series Broard bowled his best test match bowling against the Aussies at the Oval in 2009! We're not talking about the last Ashes series here.

tjsimonsen
on July 31, 2011, 9:58 GMT

@Dravid_Gravitas, 5wombats, and Shan156: Agree 100% with you guys, this has been one hell of a series so far - long may it continue. However, there is one point where I beg to disagree with Shan156; there are more than 8 contries playing cricket. I come from Denmark originally and learned my game there. Sure, we weren't good, but we played it, and in the spirit of the game too.

Truemans_Ghost
on July 31, 2011, 8:53 GMT

What a great game of cricket. Class bowling from both sides. Some tail end "humpty". a hat-trick. A truely superb century. There is no better sport in the world.

5wombats
on July 31, 2011, 8:05 GMT

Hey @Dravid_Gravitas! Joined at the hip? I saw Dravid say well bowled to Bresnan. That is respect. I said on another comment that all I'm intersted in is top quality cricket played with good spirit. Well - I'm getting it here! @Shan156 - it was you I met at Lords wasn't it? I'm starting to wonder - I had drunk rather a lot! :-) :-) :-)

5wombats
on July 31, 2011, 22:49 GMT

@Shan156: OMG! I should have paid more attention! So who the hell was that guy? He said he'd seen my message to meet anyone at Lords! Anyway - It was one of the best days ever at a Test match that day (even though, evidently, I don't remember too much about it!)

Shan156
on July 31, 2011, 14:51 GMT

5wombats, I didn't meet you at Lord's:-) I don't live in England. In fact, I have never been to England:-)

voma
on July 31, 2011, 13:25 GMT

I thought Stuart Broad played well at Lords , hes been incredble in this match ! . Did anyone notice Botham applauding him , after his batting performance . The hat trick kept Englands chances alive . Were playing against a good team here , allthough personally i cannot see anything between these 2 teams . Indias batting perhaps stronger , Englands bowling far superior . Brilliant cricket

cricfan57779427
on July 31, 2011, 12:33 GMT

This is one of the worst I have ever seen. Former England captain Michael Vaughan, on social networking site Twitter, then asked: "Has Vaseline on the outside edge of the bat saved Laxman's day?". Is this the way an ex-player of ENG should treat a good and humble player like VVS? Did Vaughan lose his mind? This ENG team agreed to use technology and now they are crying in the mid of the series. Previosuly Andy Flower and now Broad, Vauhgan. This ENG is not committed but desperate to win the series and get to #1. So they are ready to do any kind of games. I just hate this kind of Australianish mind games. Even AUS treated India like this back in 2008.

Dravid_Pujara_Gravitas
on July 31, 2011, 12:23 GMT

See, another of my favourite water-tight classic players Bell making it big! I did take his name yesterday. What a batsman Bell is! Great going Bell. Come on India. Get this danger man! I'm loving this series. Why shouldn't I? All my favourite players - Dravid, KP, Bell, VVS are playing so well. Can't help but say a million thanks to Bell for this lovely lovely knock. Hope he gets to 3 digits but my Indian heart says he should be dismissed. But the Bell Fan in me will be heart broken if he doesn't get one here under pressure. What should I do? Whom should I support? Whom should I pray for? What a game! This is Nirvana for me. I hope India wins!

saadfarrukh1
on July 31, 2011, 11:30 GMT

well done broad dhoni has turned out to be the worst player in the world in this series

tjsimonsen
on July 31, 2011, 10:00 GMT

@ironcobra: Until this series Broard bowled his best test match bowling against the Aussies at the Oval in 2009! We're not talking about the last Ashes series here.

tjsimonsen
on July 31, 2011, 9:58 GMT

@Dravid_Gravitas, 5wombats, and Shan156: Agree 100% with you guys, this has been one hell of a series so far - long may it continue. However, there is one point where I beg to disagree with Shan156; there are more than 8 contries playing cricket. I come from Denmark originally and learned my game there. Sure, we weren't good, but we played it, and in the spirit of the game too.

Truemans_Ghost
on July 31, 2011, 8:53 GMT

What a great game of cricket. Class bowling from both sides. Some tail end "humpty". a hat-trick. A truely superb century. There is no better sport in the world.

5wombats
on July 31, 2011, 8:05 GMT

Hey @Dravid_Gravitas! Joined at the hip? I saw Dravid say well bowled to Bresnan. That is respect. I said on another comment that all I'm intersted in is top quality cricket played with good spirit. Well - I'm getting it here! @Shan156 - it was you I met at Lords wasn't it? I'm starting to wonder - I had drunk rather a lot! :-) :-) :-)

dummy4fb
on July 31, 2011, 8:01 GMT

Well bowled Stuart Broad, must've been a magic moment in your career.

HaridasVarma
on July 31, 2011, 7:37 GMT

Thanks the BCCI , Harbhajans wicket goes to them. With no UDRS on LBW in this series both teams will suffer with dubious lbw decisions . Lets now add it as another feather in BCCIs CAP.

Pl dont accept hawkeye till all the Indian batsmen get lbw decision like that in a innings

Sashank_sharma
on July 31, 2011, 5:35 GMT

Harbhajan seems worthless these days.Not because of his bowling but batting as well. As a bowler u know how much u fight for a wicket even of another bowler.Then How can u throw away your wicket so easily.??

Its time India start contributing with the lower order...
.And what the hell is DHONI doing.??? he looks completely incapable of touching a ball. Useless test cricketer he is and because of him we r unable to score runs down the order.... Learn something from matt prior dude.....

dummy4fb
on July 31, 2011, 5:03 GMT

Stunning all-round performance by Stuart Broad. India reaps the rewards of sticking with the class of Dravid.

chapathishot
on July 31, 2011, 3:41 GMT

When I left office Dhoni and Dravid were playing and India was in a better position,When I reached home (15 minutes from office) Sreesanth and Ishant where batting and was really clueless how it happened .But great performance by Broad is standing between India and victory

strategic_blunder
on July 31, 2011, 2:30 GMT

@ article "England question Hotspot accuracy" (on Cricinfo)

Im just fed up with this double standard attitude of English players (whole team) and press ( N. Haussain & co.) regarding the implementaion of DRS. Throughout they have been bagging BCCI for standing their ground for partial use of technology and now they are criticizing the technology being used (claiming that Hot Spot is not accurate, less accurate than Hawk Eye etc).

To be or not to be?

rahulcricket007
on July 31, 2011, 1:38 GMT

this batting collapse reminds me of the world cup match against south africa .

allblue
on July 31, 2011, 1:20 GMT

Whichever way this one ends up, we've had seven days of cracking Test cricket in a row in this series. Two well-matched high quality sides helps of course, but the key has been the preparation of sporting wickets. By this I mean a surface on which bowlers get reward for good bowling, and batters get reward for good batting, an even contest between the disciplines as it should be. I hope (but somehow doubt) that administrators around the world take note. Test cricket dying? Not in England it ain't! Terrific performance from Broad today, well backed up by Bresnan, and if Tendulkar is the 'Little Master' then surely Dravid must be the 'Zen Master'! Another consummate Test innings from the great man, and the value of it to his team cannot be understated. If England can follow his example and bat the situation tomorrow they are still very much in this game. 250 in the 4th innings will be a real challenge, but the advantage overnight is with India. What a great game this Test cricket is!

Shan156
on July 31, 2011, 0:39 GMT

EverybodylovesSachin, Yes, he got lucky with that Harbhajan wicket. But, does that mean he didn't bowl well? What about the other 5 wickets he took? Learn to appreciate opposition players too. Cricket is, after all, a sport played by a mere 8 countries. With interest waning in most countries, it might soon be relegated to a sport played just in the sub-continent. It is OK to appreciate other teams' players. If they are all useless, then your players' achievements will be degraded too because they were achieved against poor players.

Shan156
on July 31, 2011, 0:35 GMT

Dravid_Gravitas, I agree. Dravid has been immense in this series as he so often is. Our bowlers bowled well but as an England fan, we can only doff our hats for Dravid's brilliance and move on. However, if we bat whole day tomorrow and sometime on the 4th, it would be hard for India to win, considering cloudy conditions are forecast on day 4 and rain on day 5.

It has been a great series so far. Fast bowlers from both sides have excelled while spinners, due to conditions mostly, have looked mediocre. Got to say that while England fans expected India to hit back after the Lord's defeat, their Zaheer-less pace attack has simply grown in stature and have had us on the rack. If not for Broad and Swann's positive approach, we would have been bowled out for 150.

England's biggest test will come tomorrow - Strauss, Bell, KP, Morgan and Prior need to step up. The will do well to show even 50% of Dravid's application.

BigDataIsAHoax
on July 31, 2011, 0:27 GMT

@Sunil Reddy: "bowled well in ashes against the mighty aussies". Mighty Aussies?? Really?? That aussie team was no more than a club team.

Maui3
on July 31, 2011, 0:26 GMT

Here's a glass half empty analysis: England would have been done with in this test match without Broad's brilliance. Cook look woeful, Troll is injured, Strauss has struggled for a while now and cant convert hi starts, Pieterson got his 200, so is due for 10+ mediocre performances, Bell has looked out of sort against the swing, Morgan is unfil for test cricket, Swann is a serious weak link against the Indian batting, Bresnen is OK. Broad, tremlell and Prior are holding things together this series and this against a side playing with out their best bowler and without the most destructive batsman in the last 40 years at HOME. This is not a matter of Endland shouldn't gret into bad situation and then recover. This is an english outfit which is seriously overrated based on Ashes victort against a $5 team. They havenl;t won anything in the subcontinent and they deserved top lose the series 3-1 to South Africa, which they hung on to draw the series 1-1, with Steyn sitting out first 2 tests.

maddy20
on July 31, 2011, 0:26 GMT

Cannot believe they were about to send Broad back to county! If it was not for him England would have been 130 all out and India would have been ahead by 200+ after day 3! Anyone who loves cricket has to commend Broad and Dravid for the effort. After all the hype about Sachin and Anderson its only fitting that someone else steal the show. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going!

Dravid_Pujara_Gravitas
on July 31, 2011, 0:14 GMT

@5wombats, I'm also noting your friendly banters and duels with Khiladisher and the CAPS LOCK thingy ;). Love them. To be honest, I'm not very much interested in who is no.1 and who is no.2. What all I want is Classical, Purest Cricket in The Home of Cricket i.e England. I hope the world produces more players in the mould of Bell, Dravid, Kallis, Hanif, to name a few. At the end of the day, it is just the fans who are going around beating their chests and swearing when the players are playing with such respect towards each other. Wasn't it great to see Dravid applauding Bresnan? Wasn't it great to see Strauss, the English Team and the English crowd acknowledging Dravid as much as they cheer for their team? We can't see this kind of finesse in the Indian grounds. Why? It's always beyond me. This is such a beautiful game, whether it comes from Lara in the West or Dravid in the East, KP from the North or Ponting from Down Under. Cricket is a simple game. Let's keep it simple and savour.

EverybodylovesSachin
on July 30, 2011, 22:26 GMT

LUCKY with Harbhajan wicket..He will sonn going down India had enough of this English playung at homk stuff..Inida will win this series...

5wombats
on July 30, 2011, 21:57 GMT

@Dravid_Gravitas; noting your knowledgeable comments. Dravid played a brilliant Innings today. He is putting all the other Indian batsmen in the shade. But I would say this - he is like Hussey for the Australians in The Ashes - and he can't be expected to do it every time. At some time he will fail or the England bowlers will work him out. I don't rate Laxman's chances in 4th Innings - he will play a silly shot like he did at Lords. It maybe that SRT is finished - just as Ponting is finished. Who knows? In short - as you say - Dravid is India's best chance of a win here. If he does it - scores another Hundred to win the game for India, it really will be one of the greatest efforts ever in history of England V India. I can't wait!

Dr.AlexKuruvila
on July 30, 2011, 21:48 GMT

Stuart Broad has once again proved his real class and how much of an asset he is to England. Although Harbachan in all fairness should not have been given out, Broad still desrved his success.

Dravid has once again proved that he is the most reliable Indian batsman in the past 15 years. Although Sachin may have more records, Dravid "the wall" has been India's Rock of Gibraltar and the whole country owes him for his dependability. I am hoping for an Indian victory and also for a slow over rate in this test so that Dhoni is fined and is forced to sit out for the third test. Oh my...Dhoni needs a break, as he has been a liability for Team India and he is very low in confidence as well. Saha can and will do better than Dhoni and this is the only way he'll even get a chance to play and hopefully India will continue their winning ways under a fit Gambhir in the third test.

dummy4fb
on July 30, 2011, 20:51 GMT

I think broad will become a best allrounder for england in the days to come.He bowled well in the ashes against the mighty australians.His composure was good and he is a quick learner. His ability to move the ball both ways was superb.he is the left handed freddy now for england.
The battle is now with him vs the best batting side in the world.He reminds me the glimpses of 05 ashes flintoff style and passion.

Dravid_Pujara_Gravitas
on July 30, 2011, 20:48 GMT

Somebody from the Indian camp should sneak into the England dressing room and see what they are having for Tea. Beautiful comeback. Excellent bowling by Broad. Out of the world should I say. I'm loving this top quality cricket and frequent turn of fortunes. But, I'm not sure if India can win this. Dravid will be the only key player for both the teams on a wearing 4th and 5th day wickets. If England bats 3rd day completely and scores 300+ and may be another session on day 4 for another 70+ runs, India will be in big trouble. But, if Dravid survives, England can kiss the match goodbye.

No featured comments at the moment.

Dravid_Pujara_Gravitas
on July 30, 2011, 20:48 GMT

Somebody from the Indian camp should sneak into the England dressing room and see what they are having for Tea. Beautiful comeback. Excellent bowling by Broad. Out of the world should I say. I'm loving this top quality cricket and frequent turn of fortunes. But, I'm not sure if India can win this. Dravid will be the only key player for both the teams on a wearing 4th and 5th day wickets. If England bats 3rd day completely and scores 300+ and may be another session on day 4 for another 70+ runs, India will be in big trouble. But, if Dravid survives, England can kiss the match goodbye.

dummy4fb
on July 30, 2011, 20:51 GMT

I think broad will become a best allrounder for england in the days to come.He bowled well in the ashes against the mighty australians.His composure was good and he is a quick learner. His ability to move the ball both ways was superb.he is the left handed freddy now for england.
The battle is now with him vs the best batting side in the world.He reminds me the glimpses of 05 ashes flintoff style and passion.

Dr.AlexKuruvila
on July 30, 2011, 21:48 GMT

Stuart Broad has once again proved his real class and how much of an asset he is to England. Although Harbachan in all fairness should not have been given out, Broad still desrved his success.

Dravid has once again proved that he is the most reliable Indian batsman in the past 15 years. Although Sachin may have more records, Dravid "the wall" has been India's Rock of Gibraltar and the whole country owes him for his dependability. I am hoping for an Indian victory and also for a slow over rate in this test so that Dhoni is fined and is forced to sit out for the third test. Oh my...Dhoni needs a break, as he has been a liability for Team India and he is very low in confidence as well. Saha can and will do better than Dhoni and this is the only way he'll even get a chance to play and hopefully India will continue their winning ways under a fit Gambhir in the third test.

5wombats
on July 30, 2011, 21:57 GMT

@Dravid_Gravitas; noting your knowledgeable comments. Dravid played a brilliant Innings today. He is putting all the other Indian batsmen in the shade. But I would say this - he is like Hussey for the Australians in The Ashes - and he can't be expected to do it every time. At some time he will fail or the England bowlers will work him out. I don't rate Laxman's chances in 4th Innings - he will play a silly shot like he did at Lords. It maybe that SRT is finished - just as Ponting is finished. Who knows? In short - as you say - Dravid is India's best chance of a win here. If he does it - scores another Hundred to win the game for India, it really will be one of the greatest efforts ever in history of England V India. I can't wait!

EverybodylovesSachin
on July 30, 2011, 22:26 GMT

LUCKY with Harbhajan wicket..He will sonn going down India had enough of this English playung at homk stuff..Inida will win this series...

Dravid_Pujara_Gravitas
on July 31, 2011, 0:14 GMT

@5wombats, I'm also noting your friendly banters and duels with Khiladisher and the CAPS LOCK thingy ;). Love them. To be honest, I'm not very much interested in who is no.1 and who is no.2. What all I want is Classical, Purest Cricket in The Home of Cricket i.e England. I hope the world produces more players in the mould of Bell, Dravid, Kallis, Hanif, to name a few. At the end of the day, it is just the fans who are going around beating their chests and swearing when the players are playing with such respect towards each other. Wasn't it great to see Dravid applauding Bresnan? Wasn't it great to see Strauss, the English Team and the English crowd acknowledging Dravid as much as they cheer for their team? We can't see this kind of finesse in the Indian grounds. Why? It's always beyond me. This is such a beautiful game, whether it comes from Lara in the West or Dravid in the East, KP from the North or Ponting from Down Under. Cricket is a simple game. Let's keep it simple and savour.

maddy20
on July 31, 2011, 0:26 GMT

Cannot believe they were about to send Broad back to county! If it was not for him England would have been 130 all out and India would have been ahead by 200+ after day 3! Anyone who loves cricket has to commend Broad and Dravid for the effort. After all the hype about Sachin and Anderson its only fitting that someone else steal the show. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going!

Maui3
on July 31, 2011, 0:26 GMT

Here's a glass half empty analysis: England would have been done with in this test match without Broad's brilliance. Cook look woeful, Troll is injured, Strauss has struggled for a while now and cant convert hi starts, Pieterson got his 200, so is due for 10+ mediocre performances, Bell has looked out of sort against the swing, Morgan is unfil for test cricket, Swann is a serious weak link against the Indian batting, Bresnen is OK. Broad, tremlell and Prior are holding things together this series and this against a side playing with out their best bowler and without the most destructive batsman in the last 40 years at HOME. This is not a matter of Endland shouldn't gret into bad situation and then recover. This is an english outfit which is seriously overrated based on Ashes victort against a $5 team. They havenl;t won anything in the subcontinent and they deserved top lose the series 3-1 to South Africa, which they hung on to draw the series 1-1, with Steyn sitting out first 2 tests.

BigDataIsAHoax
on July 31, 2011, 0:27 GMT

@Sunil Reddy: "bowled well in ashes against the mighty aussies". Mighty Aussies?? Really?? That aussie team was no more than a club team.

Shan156
on July 31, 2011, 0:35 GMT

Dravid_Gravitas, I agree. Dravid has been immense in this series as he so often is. Our bowlers bowled well but as an England fan, we can only doff our hats for Dravid's brilliance and move on. However, if we bat whole day tomorrow and sometime on the 4th, it would be hard for India to win, considering cloudy conditions are forecast on day 4 and rain on day 5.

It has been a great series so far. Fast bowlers from both sides have excelled while spinners, due to conditions mostly, have looked mediocre. Got to say that while England fans expected India to hit back after the Lord's defeat, their Zaheer-less pace attack has simply grown in stature and have had us on the rack. If not for Broad and Swann's positive approach, we would have been bowled out for 150.

England's biggest test will come tomorrow - Strauss, Bell, KP, Morgan and Prior need to step up. The will do well to show even 50% of Dravid's application.